“Makes sense,” said Karnak to himself.
“What do you mean,” asked Suneeti, glancing briefly around the corner to see if the soldiers were gone.
“Gorakhnath and I go back a bit,” said Karnak.
The soldiers disappeared around the corner. Karnak caught Suneeti by the hand and made a dash for the boundary wall. He helped her over it and then climbed over himself. They found themselves in a dirty back-alley. The stench of urine was rank in the air. The stepped through carefully.
“So, where are we going now?” Karnak asked Suneeti.
“I don’t know!” said Suneeti, “You’re the one who can connect, figure something out!”
Karnak grimaced as he jumped over the pot-holes full of murky water. He knew that Mahaguru wasn’t particularly fond of him but this kind of full-scale assault was somewhat surprising. He was a minor irritation in Gorakhnath’s life at best. Why had he suddenly developed this craving to see him dead?
“They’ve cordoned off the city, you say?” he asked Suneeti.
“That’s what I heard. Though it’s still early. They might not have secured all routes out of the city. And we can always move through the woods.”
Karnak considered that for a moment.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
They moved through the city, slowly and stealthily. They avoided the main streets and moved through the galees. The city thinned out as they got closer to the office. Patrol cars were frequenting the highways. Karnak and Suneeti took the narrow road that led into the denser parts of Rathvan.
“Oh shoot!” Karnak exclaimed as they neared what appeared to be a ground chariot in the distance. They could make out several scantily clad men alighting from the vehicle. They appeared eerily white in against the dark backgrounds of the night.
“Who are they?” Suneeti asked him.
“Tantriks,” said Karnak, “Looks like Mahaguru is sending them into the woods. This means we can’t go into the forest.”
“Why?”
“I have the skills to connect. Those tantriks will sense me within minutes. In fact, even now we’re running the risk of being discovered. We must more back.”
The backtracked hurriedly towards the city. They could sense that the patrolling activity had increased.
“What now?” asked Suneeti as they half ran and half walked though the cobbled streets of Rathpur.
“I have another idea,” said Karnak as he paused for a second at a crossing to decide which way to go.
Suddenly, he halted.
“What now?” asked Suneeti, “We must hurry, come on!”
“What I’m about to do, may mean that I cannot come back to his city again. In fact, I might not be able to come back to this planet either.”
“So?”
“You don’t have to come with me,” said Karnak, “Leave me now and go home. Or to Manojav’s place if that is what you have to do. This place is your home. If you come with me, you may not be able to come back.”
Suneeti smiled ruefully.
“You think there is still something left for me here? I have aided an enemy of my so called husband. Do you think Manojav will let me live? Even if he lets me live, it will be a miserable life at best. No, I will come with you. If you do not want me to stay with you, drop me off at the next planet that you visit. I will fend for myself.”
“What do you mean,” asked Suneeti, glancing briefly around the corner to see if the soldiers were gone.
“Gorakhnath and I go back a bit,” said Karnak.
The soldiers disappeared around the corner. Karnak caught Suneeti by the hand and made a dash for the boundary wall. He helped her over it and then climbed over himself. They found themselves in a dirty back-alley. The stench of urine was rank in the air. The stepped through carefully.
“So, where are we going now?” Karnak asked Suneeti.
“I don’t know!” said Suneeti, “You’re the one who can connect, figure something out!”
Karnak grimaced as he jumped over the pot-holes full of murky water. He knew that Mahaguru wasn’t particularly fond of him but this kind of full-scale assault was somewhat surprising. He was a minor irritation in Gorakhnath’s life at best. Why had he suddenly developed this craving to see him dead?
“They’ve cordoned off the city, you say?” he asked Suneeti.
“That’s what I heard. Though it’s still early. They might not have secured all routes out of the city. And we can always move through the woods.”
Karnak considered that for a moment.
“I think that’s a good idea.”
They moved through the city, slowly and stealthily. They avoided the main streets and moved through the galees. The city thinned out as they got closer to the office. Patrol cars were frequenting the highways. Karnak and Suneeti took the narrow road that led into the denser parts of Rathvan.
“Oh shoot!” Karnak exclaimed as they neared what appeared to be a ground chariot in the distance. They could make out several scantily clad men alighting from the vehicle. They appeared eerily white in against the dark backgrounds of the night.
“Who are they?” Suneeti asked him.
“Tantriks,” said Karnak, “Looks like Mahaguru is sending them into the woods. This means we can’t go into the forest.”
“Why?”
“I have the skills to connect. Those tantriks will sense me within minutes. In fact, even now we’re running the risk of being discovered. We must more back.”
The backtracked hurriedly towards the city. They could sense that the patrolling activity had increased.
“What now?” asked Suneeti as they half ran and half walked though the cobbled streets of Rathpur.
“I have another idea,” said Karnak as he paused for a second at a crossing to decide which way to go.
Suddenly, he halted.
“What now?” asked Suneeti, “We must hurry, come on!”
“What I’m about to do, may mean that I cannot come back to his city again. In fact, I might not be able to come back to this planet either.”
“So?”
“You don’t have to come with me,” said Karnak, “Leave me now and go home. Or to Manojav’s place if that is what you have to do. This place is your home. If you come with me, you may not be able to come back.”
Suneeti smiled ruefully.
“You think there is still something left for me here? I have aided an enemy of my so called husband. Do you think Manojav will let me live? Even if he lets me live, it will be a miserable life at best. No, I will come with you. If you do not want me to stay with you, drop me off at the next planet that you visit. I will fend for myself.”
Karnak nodded and began moving again.
“By the way,” shouted Suneeti after him, “How exactly do you plan to get off this planet?”
“By the way,” shouted Suneeti after him, “How exactly do you plan to get off this planet?”
No comments:
Post a Comment